The group’s academic firepower is impressive: it includes experts in fields from virology to behavioral science, from laboratories at Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
But transparency brought its own set of challenges. The role that scientists played in Britain’s procrastinating response to the virus has come under sharper scrutiny, especially as Johnson and his ministers repeatedly assert that they are “guided by science” to impose or relax blockades. Some scientists fear that Mr. Johnson is preparing them to take responsibility for the death toll, which now exceeds 43,000.
As the group’s work has increasingly become the public eye, members’ advice is now being questioned on social media. Their academic fights are hinted at in the minutes of their meetings. And as Dr. Ferguson’s indiscretions demonstrated, even his private lives are not off limits.
“It was completely horrible to see what happened to him,” said Julia Gog, a professor of mathematical biology at the University of Cambridge. “It was also extremely disturbing to other modelers, especially junior scientists. It was a big surprise to see one of our colleagues treated this way, and it certainly had an effect on the researchers. “
Dr. Gog described a pressure cooker atmosphere, in which scientists receive complex tasks on tight deadlines and have to make recommendations in a rapidly changing environment, all while keeping up with their daily jobs and dealing with the stress of confinement in your personal lives
“I am desperately concerned about the well-being of many of the scientists involved,” said Dr. Gog. “It has been very immersive. You cannot escape. Even when you’re trying not to be working, everything in the news is this, everything someone wants to talk about, and your life is also controlled by this. “
Academics enjoy debating with their colleagues. But debating while on a government panel in the midst of a public health emergency is another matter. SAGE members said they had strong discussions about whether they would recommend that the government urge people to wear face masks. A glimpse of that coming and going is evident in the minutes.
